Puig, Stanton among outfield leaders in second balloting update for 85th All-Star Game

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who ranks second in the Majors with a .340 batting average, and Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who leads the National League with 16 home runs, 51 RBI and 129 total bases, are among the N.L. leaders in the second balloting update for the 85^th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 15^th at Target Field in Minnesota.

Puig, bidding for his first All-Star selection, paces the group of N.L. outfielders with 935,276 votes. He is followed by last week's N.L. outfield leader Charlie Blackmon (883,186) of the Colorado Rockies and Stanton (863,307). With an election, Puig would give the Dodgers a fan-elected outfielder in the Midsummer Classic for the fourth time in the last five years following the elections of Andre Ethier (2010) and Matt Kemp (2011-12). In his second Major League season, the Cuban native is tied for the N.L. lead with 22 multi-hit games; ranks second with a .430 on-base percentage and 123 total bases; is tied for second with 40 RBI; places third with a .606 slugging percentage; is tied for third with 69 hits; ranks fourth with 29 extra-base hits; and is tied for sixth with 11 home runs. Blackmon, who is also aiming for his first career All-Star assignment, would give the Rockies a starting outfielder for the second consecutive year following the start by Carlos Gonzalez in 2013. Blackmon, who is tied for fourth in the N.L. with 38 RBI, would join Larry Walker, Dante Bichette and Gonzalez as the only Rockies outfielders in history to earn a fan-elected start. Stanton, seeking to become just the third player in Marlins history to draw a fan election, is second in the Majors in RBI, third overall in total bases and tied for third in home runs. The 2012 N.L. All-Star would join Gary Sheffield (1993) and Hanley Ramirez (2008-10) as the only Marlins to earn a fan election, and would become just the third Marlins outfielder in club history to make multiple All-Star appearances, joining Jeff Conine (1994-95) and Miguel Cabrera (2004-05 as an outfielder). On Friday, Stanton reached 50 RBI in Miami's 54^th game of the season, becoming the fastest player to the benchmark in franchise history, eclipsing Mike Lowell's 57-game pace in 2001. The outfield leaders are followed closely by the reigning N.L. Most Valuable Player and three-time All-Star Andrew McCutchen (823,862), and Milwaukee Brewers teammates Carlos Gomez (819,385), a 2013 N.L. All-Star, and Ryan Braun (750,672), a five-time All-Star.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the N.L.'s starting shortstop in 2013 and a three-time All-Star, has taken the overall lead in the Majors with 1,419,718 votes to pull ahead of the top American League vote-getter, Mike Trout (1,361,649) of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The N.L. has had the top vote-getter just four times (Ryne Sandberg in 1991; Barry Bonds in 1993; Albert Pujols in 2006 and 2009) since the league held the overall leader in six straight seasons from 1984-89. Tulowitzki, who leads the Majors with a .350 batting average and .450 on-base percentage, is trying to become the first N.L. shortstop to earn consecutive fan-elected starts since Ramirez did so from 2008-10. Tulowitzki, who is one of two Rockies infielders in history to receive a fan-elected start (also Todd Helton), would become just the third player in team history to earn multiple fan elections, joining Helton and Walker, both of whom were voted a starter on three occasions. Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants ranks second among N.L. shortstops with 446,937 votes.

Joining Tulowitzki on the left side of the infield is his Rockies teammate Nolan Arenado, who has received 590,745 votes to hold a narrow lead over a crowded group of N.L. third basemen, which includes seven-time All-Star and five-time fan-elected starter David Wright (565,982) of the New York Mets; two-time All-Star Aramis Ramirez (472,321) of the Brewers; two-time All-Star and 2012 fan-elected starter Pablo Sandoval (463,050) of the Giants; and Juan Uribe (436,776) of the Dodgers. The 23-year-old Arenado, who is currently on the disabled list with a fracture in his left middle finger, is batting .305 with six home runs and 28 RBI as he looks to become the first Rockies third baseman to be elected a starter by the fans. Tulowitzki and Arenado are aiming to become the first pair of N.L. teammates to start on the left side of the infield since Wright and Jose Reyes of the Mets in 2007. The Rockies, currently represented by three players, would become the third N.L. team in the last four years to have at least three players earn fan-elected starts, joining the 2011 Brewers (Braun, Fielder, Weeks) and the 2012 Giants (Posey, Sandoval, Cabrera).

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who has garnered 1,210,579 votes, continues to lead Giants backstop Buster Posey (766,356) behind the plate, and he follows closely behind Tulowitzki for the overall N.L. lead. Molina, a five-time All-Star and three-time fan-elected starter, is seeking his second consecutive start. The Cardinals have had at least one player elected to start in each of the last five seasons (2009-13), marking the longest active streak in the N.L. Molina, who ranks second among N.L. catchers with 60 hits, would join Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (12) and former teammate Pujols (5) as the only players in Cardinals history to receive at least four fan-elected starts.

Rounding out the N.L. leaders on the right side of the infield is Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. Gonzalez, who has received 647,826 votes, is followed by four-time All-Star Justin Morneau (525,614) of the Rockies, 2013 N.L. All-Star Freddie Freeman (511,177) of the Atlanta Braves and 2013 N.L. All-Star Paul Goldschmidt (490,659) of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a trio separated by approximately 35,000 votes. Gonzalez, who is tied for fourth in the N.L. with 38 RBI and ranks fifth with 12 home runs, would become the first Dodgers infielder to earn a start since second baseman Jeff Kent in 2005. The four-time All-Star is vying for his second career start and his first in the N.L. after earning a fan election in 2011 while with the Boston Red Sox. Along with Puig, the duo is attempting become the first pair of Dodgers teammates to earn fan-elected starts in a Midsummer Classic since 1980, when first baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, shortstop Bill Russell and outfielder Reggie Smith were all elected by the fans. Utley, who is trying for his sixth All-Star appearance and sixth fan-elected start (2006-10), has accumulated 974,196 votes as he continues to lead Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon (530,289). Utley, who is 24 hits shy of 1,500 for his career, leads all N.L. second basemen in batting average (.319), on-base percentage (.378), slugging percentage (.517), doubles (23), extra-base hits (30) and total bases (107). His five fan elections currently trail only Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt (9) for the most in Phillies history, and the only other N.L. second basemen to draw more All-Star starts are Utley's manager Ryne Sandberg (9) and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (7).

MLB's All-Star Balloting Program is the largest of its kind in professional sports. The last two years represent the two highest totals in balloting history, including a record 40.2 million ballots cast in 2012. More than 20 million Firestone All-Star ballots will be distributed at MLB's 30 ballparks, each of which will have 23 dates for balloting.

In addition, fans around the world can cast their votes for starters 25 times exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 Club web sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Experian. The All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Experian is available in English and Spanish, and offers audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually-impaired fans. Banco BHD sponsors online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language Web site of Major League Baseball.

Every Major League Club began its in-stadium balloting no later than May 12^th. When the in-stadium phase of balloting concludes no later than June 26^th, fans will have the opportunity to cast their ballots exclusively online at MLB.com, the 30 Club Web sites and their mobile devices until Thursday, July 3^rd at 11:59 p.m. (EDT).

Firestone, the official tire of MLB, is once again the exclusive sponsor of the 2014 In-Stadium All-Star Balloting Program. The ballot features an All-Star sweepstakes, in which a winner will be rewarded with a trip for two to MLB All-Star Week, including airfare, hotel accommodations, tickets to the All-Star Game and other MLB All-Star Week events, and VIP on-field access to watch batting practice before the All-Star Game with an MLB legend.

For the sixth consecutive year, the ballot features the Home Run Derby Fan Poll. Fans have the opportunity to select three players in each League who they would most like to see participate in the Home Run Derby. The Fan Poll is also available online at MLB.com. The 2014 Home Run Derby, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio in the United States beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (CT) on Monday, July 14^th. The 10 American League candidates are Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays; Carlos Beltran of the New York Yankees; Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers; Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners; 2013 Home Run Derby Champion Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics; Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles; Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers; All-Star Ambassador Joe Mauer of the Twins; David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox; and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The 10 National League candidates are Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburgh Pirates; Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds; Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals; Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves; Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants; Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins; Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies; and David Wright of the New York Mets.

The 2014 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on the 2014 MLB All-Star Game Selection Show during the weekend of July 5 ^th-6^th, with further details to follow. The A.L. All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the N.L. All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 25 for the N.L. and 24 for the A.L. - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - N.L. skipper Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals and A.L. manager John Farrell of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

Immediately following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 34-man roster via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 13^th season with more than 430 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile phones.

This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans will vote exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites via the 2014 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote Sponsored by Pepsi, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year's recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.

The 2014 All-Star Game will be played at Target Field on Tuesday, July 15^th. The 85^th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.